LIGHT THE LIGHTS, OL’ MOSES CLE! (A WILD HOLIDAY ROMP)

Originated by Raymond Bobgan & Beth Wood. Multiple short works created, directed and performed by Northeast Ohio artists.

November 25, 2016 - December 18, 2016

7:30pm, Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun, Gordon Square Theatre. Previews November 25 –27 & December 1.

2 hours and 30 min with an intermission

$20-40. Purchase a table (seats 8) and receive two bottles of complimentary wine.

Ring in the season CPT-style with a vaudeville-inspired evening of holiday folly, mischief and merry-making. Staged in the round at cabaret tables in CPT’s historic Gordon Square Theatre, the show will feature an evening of holiday-themed vignettes, ranging from bawdy to poignant, live music and larger-than-life antics by an assorted cast of characters. Originated by Raymond Bobgan (Fire on the Water) and Beth Wood (The Loush Sisters LOVE Dick’ns). World Premiere.

LIGHT THE LIGHTS, OL' MOSES CLE! (A WILD HOLIDAY ROMP) is sold out on Friday, December 2nd and Thursday, December 15th.

Guests will enjoy stageside cabaret seating and table service during all performances.

Cast: Molly Andrews-Hinders, Dionne Atchison, JamekaTerri, Ryan Edlinger, Faye Hargate, Holly Holsinger, Caitlin Lewins, Brandon McSwain, Sarah Moore, Adam Seeholzer, Chris Walker, Andy Weyenberg, Tecia Wilson

Creators: Raymond Bobgan & Beth Wood with Molly Andrews-Hinders, John Busser, Eric Coble, Holly Holsinger, Caitlin Lewins, Blanca Iris Garcia Salva & Renee Schilling


The Creative Production Team Includes:

Kate Bindus - Stage Manager
Elizabeth Cammett - Assistant Stage Manager & Script Supervisor
Inda Blatch-Geib - Costume Designer
T. Paul Lowry - Scenic & Video Design
Jakyung Seo - Lighting Designer

Remarkable Rating:

Light the Lights, Ol’ Moses CLE! (A Wild Holiday Romp) is SOLD OUT on Friday, December 2nd, and thursday, december 15th!







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IT’S COLD OUT THERE.

And as we Clevelanders (and beyond) steady ourselves for the season ahead, the CPT creative cauldron is a’firing.

Between the creative wizardry of CPT’s own Raymond Bobgan and Beth Wood, and the combined talents of contributing writers Molly Andrews-Hinders, John Busser, Eric Coble, Holly Holsinger, Caitlin Lewins, Blanca Iris Garcia Salva and Renee Schilling, we’ve cooked up a variety-style theatrical evening packed with rowdy flavor, zingy antics, jolly weirdness, salty humor, and just enough melt-in-your mouth holiday moments to last you through to the next gathering around the ceremonial turkey.

Oh. And there will be soup. We’re scaling up our concessions game to offer belly-warming Suzy’s Soups at the CPT bar, as well as a locally-sourced specialty cocktail… The Ol’ Moses Mule, concocted with spiced rum and spiked with hand-crafted ginger beer from our friends and neighbors, Old City Libations. And, as always, we’ll be ready to satisfy your sweet tooth with a fresh selection of homemade chocolates and delectables from Sweet Moses Soda Fountain & Treat Shop.

It’s been a doozy of a 2016, to say the least, and signs point to us all deserving a much-needed belly laugh right about… now. Light the Lights, Ol’ Moses Cle! (A Wild Holiday Romp). Just what the Doctor (Faustus) ordered.

CATHLEEN O’MALLEY
DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT & MEDIA RELATIONS


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“Drinking is what makes the holidays bearable. Am I right?!” 

– Frigga, played by Dionne Atchison

While Frigga, the hostess with the most-ess, is getting sauced on punch – consider ordering yourself a glass of “holiday cheer” from CPT concessions… including our Light the Lights signature cocktail – the “Ol’ Moses Mule”! This sweet and spicy concoction arrives courtesy of the mixologists at Old City Libations (you may recognize their winning ways from MSNBC’s Cleveland Hustles)… and features hand-crafted ginger beer made right here in our Gordon Square Arts District neighborhood. (Laying off the hard stuff? Old City Sodas are great on their own!)



An Insider Spoonful…

Available for sale at the bar before the show and during intermission, we’ll be serving up some fresh, belly-warming Suzy’s Soup at every show! Hot, delicious comfort food for your post-Thanksgiving appetite… vegan and gluten-free options available.

Tomato Basil Chicken Noodle

Sweet Potato ginger with Coconut Milk (GF/Vegan)

Beef Chili (GF)


Sweets & Treats!

Long time CPT favorites at the concession stand, we’ll be offering  Sweet Moses Soda Fountain & Treat Shop sweets and treats to indulge your candy cravings.


From the field…

“The build has begun for Light the Lights, Ol’ Moses Cle! (A Wild Holiday Romp). I have to be honest, while I love rehearsing in CPT’s Parish Hall rehearsal space, I can’t wait to move into the Gordon Square Theatre. I adore working in this theatre with all of its grandeur and weird challenges. I can’t wait to see what this space is going to teach us about this awesome, strange, funny show that we’re creating!

Beth Wood
Associate Artistic Director and Co-Creator and Co-Director of Light the Lights, Ol’ Moses Cle! (A Wild Holiday Romp)

See Beth’s original facebook post here.


The creators of Light the Lights share the inspiration for their creations

(and a few bonus holiday traditions & memories, as well!)


Molly Andrews-Hinders

Creator of Midnight Song to Call Back the Sun

I’ve created a musical scene in a church. I’m an ex-Catholic, but still very spiritual person. My inspiration came from the tension between the religious and commercial reign over the season, and my own quest for a deeper understanding of connection and community during the holidays – during the darkest time of the year.

You get to go on a very personal journey with me as I attend a midnight mass. Catholics are known for keeping things on the inside, and staying relatively quiet during mass, so I attempt to peel away those layers. What inner monologue do we all have as we take part in ritual?

BONUS!
A favorite holiday tradition from Molly:
I love going to get a Christmas tree with my family. Actually going to cut it down. Our group has grown: we used to get one tree for one household, and now we’re up to 4 trees for 4 different homes. I like reading the Christmas poem that’s printed on the signs heading into and out of the tree farm, even though we have no young children with us. The whole experience is made complete by drinking hot cocoa, eating popcorn, and listening Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts soundtrack on the way home. I feel like a kid again.

Photo by Cory Markowitz.


Raymond Bobgan

Creator of POW Stuff, Car Scene, Casting Moses, Moses…, Santa Origin/Holiday Time, Personal Stories, The End of Act One, The Origins, Interlude One and Interlude Two

Oh my goodness! I don’t know what I’m creating… it’s still taking form and its going to be a little weird… Oh wait, I’m not supposed to use that word since it has bad connotations, right? I think I am sharing a tiny window into the madhouse that is my mind in creation-mode.

I was inspired by my own experience of trying to make a holiday show – I feel a bit like Jack Skellington here. Also I saw Fellini’s 8 ½ with my son Raziel recently and that has definitely been coloring my work.

The characters we get to know in my scenes… well, me (maybe a little), but its not really me – its more like a younger me (but without the incredible private tantrums I would throw). Yeah, there isn’t any punching walls or collapsing on the floor in utter despair. This is a lot more sanitized… because who wants to see that on stage? And besides, I don’t do that to myself any more… really… no really…

BONUS!
Holiday musings from Raymond:
My dad never liked holidays. We didn’t have a tree or ever believe in Santa, but we did get presents. When I was a kid, I felt totally ripped off by this…. However, as happens sometimes, now that I am an adult I feel similar (though not as extreme). Namely, I don’t need a tree and I just don’t get the whole Santa thing.

Photo by Steve Wagner.


Eric Coble

Creator of ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas (In Cleveland)

My piece of the evening’s frolic is ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas (In Cleveland) – I wanted to do a hyper-Cleveland-centric take on a holiday classic. It’s told by a narrator, whose emotional stability ebbs and flows wildly depending on the moment. I pictured it as just a person with a book, reading to us, as a bedtime story that goes off the rails, accompanied by an off-stage “Director” who uses a sound-effect to alert the reader to get back on track and keep telling an appropriate story.

Part of why I chose this story is that ever since I was a small, small child, Christmas Eve was always the most magical part of the holiday, even more than the day itself. Because it’s nothing but potential – ANYTHING could happen on this most amazing of nights, and it’s barreling toward us minute by minute whether we’re ready or not. It’s all about suspense and belief and dread and optimism… Kind of like Cleveland’s future.

Photo by Betsy Molnar.


Holly Holsinger

Creator of It Begins and Ends with Fire

I have created a one woman version of The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Hans Christian Andersen). This was one of my favorite stories as a kid and although the theme is not centrally “holiday,” it was my first impulse in creating for Light the Lights.

My Barbie and Ken somehow fit perfectly into this story about two toys, a tin soldier, and a ballerina. My Barbies have been on my casting list for a few years now, ever since my mother threatened to throw them out if I didn’t take them home to Cleveland. I actually got that Barbie and Malibu Ken (which are used in the show) for Christmas. They came with a cool plastic van (to go to the beach, I guess). That was a long time ago, so I think they are technically “vintage” now. I loved playing with them as a kid and dreamed of being them. Now they seem a mix of beauty and evil and I wonder what the fallout has been in terms of my self-image in the course of growing up.

The piece, It Begins and Ends with Fire, is a re-telling of the Tin Soldier story from a new perspective. It’s playful with serious undercurrents and features bits of original music and dance which are woven into the performance.

Photo by Terry Goodman.


Renee Schilling

Creator of Joyeux Noel
 

Joyeux Noel was inspired by my in-laws. Last year, I was in France for Christmas visiting (and meeting for the first time) my husband’s family. First off, they are very, very kind (and stylish and smart… you get the idea). They wanted to know lots about Cleveland. As it was, they knew three things: 1. Lebron James lived there. 2. We had a famous hospital. 3. We were important in an election.

The question I was asked the most often was “What are the people in Cleveland like?” I had a really hard time answering that question. In this play I try to answer it. The conversation was not that different than what you would hear around a table here in Cleveland. Election opinions, supermarket prices, job market conversations. The only real difference was that Christmas dinner in that small town surrounded by a medieval wall lasted 8 hours and there was a literal boat load of seafood of the table. It was a boat cooler. I kid you not. See below for a photo of the boat of seafood. Please note – this is the first course. Please also note – there are 9 people at dinner.

BONUS!
A favorite holiday memory from Renee:
Every year the Schillings put together a Christmas puzzle. One would think it would be relaxing. It is not. Every year we do one. It gives me anxiety. How can people find puzzles relaxing? I would much rather play Scrabble or Yahtzee or get dental work done. Please, if you see my family, try to convince them to NOT do a Christmas puzzle.Photo of Renee Schilling by Sebastian Orr. Photo of boat of seafood by Renee Schilling.

Beth Wood

Creator of The Best Christmas Movies in 6 Minutes, X-mas is Sexy and Frigga

The Best Christmas Movies in 6 Minutes features famous quotes from all of our favorite holiday films. We meet Clark from Christmas Vacation, the Grinch, Kevin from Home Alone, George from It’s a Wonderful Life and many, many others. X-mas is Sexy is about two apprentice angels who’ve been sent to find the shepherds and bring them to Bethlehem but they get distracted by singing Christmas songs in an unexpected way – making religious Christmas songs sexy. I’m also creating a reoccurring piece about this woman, Frigga, who’s a cross between a hostess-with-the-most-ess, a 1950’s housewife and an incredibly unhappy modern woman who is trying to change her fate and the monotony of her world by throwing the best Christmas party ever. She’s inspired by the Goddess Frigga from Norse mythology – the Goddess of Winter Solstice.
 

BONUS!
A favorite holiday tradition from Beth:

Every Christmas morning, I make an egg soufflé. Well, it’s like a poorman’s egg soufflé. We call it egg bake. And you mix it up the night before and put it in the oven Christmas morning. It’s delicious with bacon and lots and lots of cheese and bread and eggs and it’s so good. SO GOOD. And then we have mimosas. And by mimosas I mean champagne with just enough orange juice to color it orange. That’s probably one of my favorite traditions.

Photo of Beth Wood by Steve Wagner. Photos of representational egg bake and mimosas pulled by Caitlin Lewins from pillsbury.com and chowhound.com.